Chapter 4
A few hours later at the Crane Mansion.
Pilar rose out of bed and headed toward her room window to pull open her curtain. As the sun showered the room, Pilar headed to her bathroom to get ready for the day. Thirty minutes later, showered and dressed, Pilar headed out the door in search of Theresa. Before she made it to the door she caught sight of a letter sitting on her desk. Cautiously, Pilar picked up the letter and began to read it.
Dear Mama, By time you read this, I'll already be gone. I'm leaving Harmony Mama, I just can't stand by and watch Ethan and Gwen flaunt their marriage and future family in my face; it hurts too much. I always thought that Ethan and I were meant to be together and that fate would somehow bring us back to each other, but I guess I was wrong. I'm giving up on Fate Mama, just like it gave up on me. If being a Crane taught me one thing, it was to go after what you want and depend on no one but yourself. I think it's about time I did that. I'm going to try and make it on my own, without the fantasies, impossible dreams, and most importantly, without Ethan. Take care of yourself Mama, and don't forget that I love you so much. Tell Antonio, Luis, and Miguel that I love them very much and I'll miss them so much. Tell Whitney that she is the best friend anyone could ask for and I'm sorry that I have to leave her. Tell Ivy, Rebecca, and Julian that they're finally getting what they want; I'm leaving them for good. Lastly, tell Ethan and Gwen that I hope they get EVERYTHING they deserve and then some. I'll do my best to take care of myself Mama, and I promise to try to call you as soon as I can. I love you Mama and please don't worry about me because I'll be okay. Love Always Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald
Pilar already had tears rolling down her cheeks as she finished reading Theresa's goodbye letter. Oh my God, my only daughter's gone! This is all Ethan's fault!! Pilar thought as anger bubbled within her. She quickly ran out of her room and headed for the living room where Ethan, Gwen, Ivy, Julian, and Rebecca were sitting eating breakfast.
"YOU!" Pilar yelled upon seeing Ethan. "This is all your fault!" she continued as she stalked toward him.
"What's wrong Pilar, did something happen?" Ethan asked, as clueless as always.
"My daughter is gone because of you! You and your stupidity chased her away!!"
"Pilar! Would you calm down and tell us what you are talking about," Gwen said, not liking the way Pilar was talking to Ethan.
After taking a few calming breathes, Pilar finally replied, "I found a letter from Theresa this morning in my room. She has left Harmony and I have no idea where she is or how she is doing." Pilar then turned back to Ethan, "She left because you broke her heart. I will never forgive you for taking my daughter away from me Ethan, never!"
Ethan looked at Pilar with sadness and guilt in his eyes as he let his thoughts consume him. She's gone? I can't believe she just left. After what I said to her last night, who could blame her? God, I still love you Theresa.
"Well I personally don't see what the big deal is. The little fajita is finally gone, I say it's about time!" Rebecca said snobbishly.
"I second that" Ivy added.
Pilar looked at Rebecca and Ivy with disgust, and then said, "You two make me sick!" She turned her gaze to everyone else in the room and stopped on Ethan before she continued, "You all make me sick. Now that I think about it, I'm glad my daughter is away from you people." With one final look of disgust, Pilar turned and left the room, leaving three smug women, one drunken fool, and one broken-hearted man. I'll always love you Theresa, and if I ever get to see you again, I'll tell you Ethan thought as he turned and walked back to his wife, his future, his torture.
Twenty minutes later, Phyllis walked into the living room and was greeted with the same occupants as Pilar was.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you Mr. Crane, but I wanted to inform you that I have not been able to find Mr. Fox Crane, and when I went to his room to clean up, many of his clothes were gone" Phyllis said, looking at each person's reaction.
"You don't think that." Ethan started, but he was unable to finish his sentence.
"Think what sir?" Phyllis asked
"That Fox and Theresa ran away together," Pilar stated, walking back into the living room with her luggages. "Yes, that's exactly what I think, and I pray to God that it's the truth," she continued.
"What do you mean? Do you have any idea how unsafe it is for Theresa to be God knows where with Fox? He'll try to get Theresa into his bed the first chance he gets!" Ethan said with anger.
"That may be your opinion Ethan, but I've seen Fox and Theresa together enough times to know that he would do any and everything to protect my daughter at all costs. I know I can trust him with my daughter's life and her heart. That's more than I can say about you" Pilar replied purposely adding salt to Ethan's wounds.
With that said, Pilar picked up her luggage's and headed for the door. "I'll be staying at my home now that Theresa is no longer here (A/N the Lopez-Fitzgerald house never burnt down since there was no Evil Charity). I hope you all have a good life, and I hope I never see any of you again," Pilar said as she turned and left the Crane mansion.
Meanwhile at the Bennett Household
Sam, Grace, and Kay walked into Charity's room to find Jessica curled up in a ball quietly sobbing.
"Jessica? Honey, is everything okay?" Grace asked.
"No! Nothing is okay, and it's all your fault. All three of you caused this!" Jessica screamed as she rose to her feet.
"Honey, calm down and tell us what has you so upset," Sam said as he reached for Jessica.
Jessica stepped out of Sam's reach and walked over to Charity's window. She stared out for a few minutes before she finally turned around and responded.
"Charity's gone. She left Harmony around 3 o'clock in the morning. She didn't tell me where she was going, hell, she didn't even know where she was going. But she's gone and she left because each and every single one of you made her feel unloved and unwanted!"
"How dare you! Just because crazy Charity couldn't handle a little dose of reality does not mean that it was my fault!" Kay replied angrily.
"Oh shut up Kay, you and I both know that as soon as this conversation is over, you're going to go to your room and rejoice. But you know something, that's okay because I expect that from you. But you two" Jessica said as she pointed to Sam and Grace, "you two made her feel horrible. You basically blamed her because Miguel loved her too much to propose to Kay. It wasn't her fault! She let him go, but Miguel wouldn't give up. She tried to put her happiness aside for Kay and her baby, and all you guys did was make her feel like crap! Because of you three, I just lost my only cousin and best friend!" Jessica yelled as she stormed past them and toward Charity's room door. Before leaving, she turned around and said
"I hope you're all happy because she's finally gone. Go ahead and rejoice Kay, it's what you've always wanted, but know this, Charity could run all the way to Alaska and Miguel would still love her way more than he could ever love you, don't ever forget that!" and then she was gone leaving all three of them to their thoughts. One aunt and uncle were realizing the cruelty of their ways toward their only niece, and one cousin was realizing the truth in her sister's words and that Charity's departure didn't feel like the big victory she was expecting.
TBC
Next chapter: Find out how Theresa, Fox, and Charity are doing on the road AND what did Ethan say to Theresa that night before that caused her to leave Harmony? Keep reading to find out!
A few hours later at the Crane Mansion.
Pilar rose out of bed and headed toward her room window to pull open her curtain. As the sun showered the room, Pilar headed to her bathroom to get ready for the day. Thirty minutes later, showered and dressed, Pilar headed out the door in search of Theresa. Before she made it to the door she caught sight of a letter sitting on her desk. Cautiously, Pilar picked up the letter and began to read it.
Dear Mama, By time you read this, I'll already be gone. I'm leaving Harmony Mama, I just can't stand by and watch Ethan and Gwen flaunt their marriage and future family in my face; it hurts too much. I always thought that Ethan and I were meant to be together and that fate would somehow bring us back to each other, but I guess I was wrong. I'm giving up on Fate Mama, just like it gave up on me. If being a Crane taught me one thing, it was to go after what you want and depend on no one but yourself. I think it's about time I did that. I'm going to try and make it on my own, without the fantasies, impossible dreams, and most importantly, without Ethan. Take care of yourself Mama, and don't forget that I love you so much. Tell Antonio, Luis, and Miguel that I love them very much and I'll miss them so much. Tell Whitney that she is the best friend anyone could ask for and I'm sorry that I have to leave her. Tell Ivy, Rebecca, and Julian that they're finally getting what they want; I'm leaving them for good. Lastly, tell Ethan and Gwen that I hope they get EVERYTHING they deserve and then some. I'll do my best to take care of myself Mama, and I promise to try to call you as soon as I can. I love you Mama and please don't worry about me because I'll be okay. Love Always Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald
Pilar already had tears rolling down her cheeks as she finished reading Theresa's goodbye letter. Oh my God, my only daughter's gone! This is all Ethan's fault!! Pilar thought as anger bubbled within her. She quickly ran out of her room and headed for the living room where Ethan, Gwen, Ivy, Julian, and Rebecca were sitting eating breakfast.
"YOU!" Pilar yelled upon seeing Ethan. "This is all your fault!" she continued as she stalked toward him.
"What's wrong Pilar, did something happen?" Ethan asked, as clueless as always.
"My daughter is gone because of you! You and your stupidity chased her away!!"
"Pilar! Would you calm down and tell us what you are talking about," Gwen said, not liking the way Pilar was talking to Ethan.
After taking a few calming breathes, Pilar finally replied, "I found a letter from Theresa this morning in my room. She has left Harmony and I have no idea where she is or how she is doing." Pilar then turned back to Ethan, "She left because you broke her heart. I will never forgive you for taking my daughter away from me Ethan, never!"
Ethan looked at Pilar with sadness and guilt in his eyes as he let his thoughts consume him. She's gone? I can't believe she just left. After what I said to her last night, who could blame her? God, I still love you Theresa.
"Well I personally don't see what the big deal is. The little fajita is finally gone, I say it's about time!" Rebecca said snobbishly.
"I second that" Ivy added.
Pilar looked at Rebecca and Ivy with disgust, and then said, "You two make me sick!" She turned her gaze to everyone else in the room and stopped on Ethan before she continued, "You all make me sick. Now that I think about it, I'm glad my daughter is away from you people." With one final look of disgust, Pilar turned and left the room, leaving three smug women, one drunken fool, and one broken-hearted man. I'll always love you Theresa, and if I ever get to see you again, I'll tell you Ethan thought as he turned and walked back to his wife, his future, his torture.
Twenty minutes later, Phyllis walked into the living room and was greeted with the same occupants as Pilar was.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you Mr. Crane, but I wanted to inform you that I have not been able to find Mr. Fox Crane, and when I went to his room to clean up, many of his clothes were gone" Phyllis said, looking at each person's reaction.
"You don't think that." Ethan started, but he was unable to finish his sentence.
"Think what sir?" Phyllis asked
"That Fox and Theresa ran away together," Pilar stated, walking back into the living room with her luggages. "Yes, that's exactly what I think, and I pray to God that it's the truth," she continued.
"What do you mean? Do you have any idea how unsafe it is for Theresa to be God knows where with Fox? He'll try to get Theresa into his bed the first chance he gets!" Ethan said with anger.
"That may be your opinion Ethan, but I've seen Fox and Theresa together enough times to know that he would do any and everything to protect my daughter at all costs. I know I can trust him with my daughter's life and her heart. That's more than I can say about you" Pilar replied purposely adding salt to Ethan's wounds.
With that said, Pilar picked up her luggage's and headed for the door. "I'll be staying at my home now that Theresa is no longer here (A/N the Lopez-Fitzgerald house never burnt down since there was no Evil Charity). I hope you all have a good life, and I hope I never see any of you again," Pilar said as she turned and left the Crane mansion.
Meanwhile at the Bennett Household
Sam, Grace, and Kay walked into Charity's room to find Jessica curled up in a ball quietly sobbing.
"Jessica? Honey, is everything okay?" Grace asked.
"No! Nothing is okay, and it's all your fault. All three of you caused this!" Jessica screamed as she rose to her feet.
"Honey, calm down and tell us what has you so upset," Sam said as he reached for Jessica.
Jessica stepped out of Sam's reach and walked over to Charity's window. She stared out for a few minutes before she finally turned around and responded.
"Charity's gone. She left Harmony around 3 o'clock in the morning. She didn't tell me where she was going, hell, she didn't even know where she was going. But she's gone and she left because each and every single one of you made her feel unloved and unwanted!"
"How dare you! Just because crazy Charity couldn't handle a little dose of reality does not mean that it was my fault!" Kay replied angrily.
"Oh shut up Kay, you and I both know that as soon as this conversation is over, you're going to go to your room and rejoice. But you know something, that's okay because I expect that from you. But you two" Jessica said as she pointed to Sam and Grace, "you two made her feel horrible. You basically blamed her because Miguel loved her too much to propose to Kay. It wasn't her fault! She let him go, but Miguel wouldn't give up. She tried to put her happiness aside for Kay and her baby, and all you guys did was make her feel like crap! Because of you three, I just lost my only cousin and best friend!" Jessica yelled as she stormed past them and toward Charity's room door. Before leaving, she turned around and said
"I hope you're all happy because she's finally gone. Go ahead and rejoice Kay, it's what you've always wanted, but know this, Charity could run all the way to Alaska and Miguel would still love her way more than he could ever love you, don't ever forget that!" and then she was gone leaving all three of them to their thoughts. One aunt and uncle were realizing the cruelty of their ways toward their only niece, and one cousin was realizing the truth in her sister's words and that Charity's departure didn't feel like the big victory she was expecting.
TBC
Next chapter: Find out how Theresa, Fox, and Charity are doing on the road AND what did Ethan say to Theresa that night before that caused her to leave Harmony? Keep reading to find out!